Reflexive Verbs (zich)
Reflexive Verbs (zich)
A large group of Dutch verbs requires an object pointing back at the subject where English uses none at all. 'I feel fine' is ik voel me goed — leave out the me and the sentence is simply broken.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
The reflexive pronoun is obligatory, not optional emphasis
Ik voel me goed. Hij vergist zich.
I feel fine. He's mistaken.
English '-self' words add emphasis or genuine reflexive meaning ('I hurt myself'), and are dropped otherwise. Dutch reflexive verbs carry the pronoun as part of the verb: zich voelen, zich vergissen, zich haasten, zich vervelen. The pronoun is not translatable and not removable. Dictionaries list these verbs with zich in front precisely to warn you.
zich is used only for third person; the rest reuse object pronouns
ik voel me, jij voelt je, hij voelt zich, wij voelen ons, zij voelen zich
I feel, you feel, he feels, we feel, they feel
There is only one dedicated reflexive word, zich, and it covers hij, zij, het and the plural zij. All other persons simply reuse the ordinary object pronouns: me, je, ons, jullie. English by contrast builds a distinct '-self' form for every person. The emphatic version adds zelf: Ik voel mezelf, Hij wast zichzelf, which is what you use for genuinely reflexive actions as opposed to fixed reflexive verbs.
Some verbs change meaning with and without the reflexive
Ik herinner me dat. (I remember that.) / Dat herinnert me aan Anna. (That reminds me of Anna.)
I remember that. / That reminds me of Anna.
A handful of verbs exist in both a reflexive and a non-reflexive version with related but distinct meanings. zich herinneren is 'to remember' while herinneren aan is 'to remind of'; zich bevinden is 'to be located' while bevinden alone is rare. English uses two entirely different verbs for these pairs, so you cannot predict the split from the English side.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- to feel
- English
- to be mistaken
- English
- to hurry
- English
- to be bored
- English
- to remember
- English
- to wash (oneself)
- English
- to get dressed
- English
- to introduce oneself / to imagine
- English
- I feel fine
- English
- Hurry up!
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